List of 26 best universities in South Africa

Updated:

EduRank

Top 26 universities in South Africa ranked by EduRank based on research outputs, non-academic prominence, and alumni influence. The rankings are determined by analyzing 13.4M citations received by 661K academic publications made by 26 universities from South Africa, the popularity of 842 recognized alumni, and the largest reference database available.

9. Rhodes University

#16 in Africa
#1089 in the World
Enrollment
8,200
Founded
1904

10. University of the Free State

#17 in Africa
#1109 in the World
Acceptance Rate
25%
Enrollment
37,000
Founded
1904

11. University of the Western Cape

#18 in Africa
#1156 in the World
Acceptance Rate
60%
Enrollment
24,754
Founded
1959

15. Cape Peninsula University of Technology

#45 in Africa
#2307 in the World
Acceptance Rate
91%
Enrollment
35,047
Founded
2005

16. University of Limpopo

#50 in Africa
#2415 in the World
Acceptance Rate
45%
Founded
1959

19. University of Venda

#104 in Africa
#3650 in the World
Acceptance Rate
72%
Founded
1982

25. University of Mpumalanga

#331 in Africa
#7233 in the World
Enrollment
2,500
Founded
2014

26. Sol Plaatje University

#458 in Africa
#9719 in the World
Acceptance Rate
80%
Enrollment
3,000
Founded
2013

The best cities to study in South Africa based on the number of universities and their ranks are Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Stellenbosch.

Average cost of living for students in South Africa is $486 + $71-504 for rent (depends on where to live: dormitory, renting with a roommate or solo).